Mishpatim: Halakha or Go Your Own Way?

A constant source of disagreement in the Hebrew Roots and Messianic Movement is the topic of the rabbis and sages and halakha.  Many, still operate in many degrees the same way they did within Christianity.  Simply, stating a different interpretation of a verse gets the stamp of “Hebraic mindset” without sourcing primary or secondary sources.  Often times these interpretations are are different but rather far off from actual halakha, devoid of primary evidence.  Close evaluation of language, history and practice is lost, and is replaced with blog articles and YouTube theology.  This week’s Torah Portion however shows us we need to slow down and be good scholars in this instance.  

וְאֵלֶה הַמִ ְ ָטִים אֲ ֶר תָ ִים לִפְנֵיהֶם

Ve’ele hamishpatim asher tasim l’ifneihem.

“And these are the ordinances that you shall set before them.”
(Exodus 21:1; The Stone Edition Tanach)

The thing that is interesting in this verse is we have the word תָּשִׁים (literally “you should set) which alludes directly to תָשׁוּם (literally “you should evaluate).  

We also see that it says “that you shall set before them”, this is crucial.  

What we see here is that the Sanhedrin and their functions are being established in this Torah portion as well as the Torah Portion Shoftim, that we will come to in the book of Deuteronomy.    In Deuteronomy 17:11-12 that HaShem declares doing as the Sanhedrin says is a core part of observance and also states what is to be done if they don’t: 

“According to the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do; thou shalt not turn aside from the sentence which they shall declare unto thee, to the right hand, nor to the left. And the man that doeth presumptuously, in not hearkening unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die; and thou shalt exterminate the evil from Israel.”
(Deuteronomy 17:11-12; JPS) 

Yeshua himself also states: 

ܗܝܕܝܢ ܝܫܘܥ ܡܠܠ ܥܡ ܟܢܫܐ ܘܥܡ ܬܠܡܝܕܘܗܝ
ܘܐܡܪ ܠܗܘܢ ܥܠ ܟܘܪܣܝܐ ܕܡܘܫܐ ܝܬܒܘ ܣܦܪܐ ܘܦܪܝܫܐ
ܟܠ ܡܕܡ ܗܟܝܠ ܕܢܐܡܪܘܢ ܠܟܘܢ ܕܬܛܪܘܢ ܛܪܘ ܘܥܒܕܘ ܐܝܟ ܥܒܕܝܗܘܢ ܕܝܢ ܠܐ ܬܥܒܕܘܢ ܐܡܪܝܢ ܓܝܪ ܘܠܐ ܥܒܕܝܢ

haydeyn Eshu` malel, `am kenshe, w`am talmeedawhy, wemar lhoon, `al kursya d’mushe yeethevw saphre wafreeshe; kul medem hacheel dneemroon lchoon dthetroon; tarw wa`vedw, aych `vadayhoon deyn la te`bdun, amreen geyr, wla `avdeen

Then Eshu {Yeshua} spoke with the kenshe {the crowds}, and with His Disciples. And He said unto them, “The Saphre {The Scribes} and the Phrishe {the Pharisees} sit on The Kursya d’Mushe {The Chair of Moses}. Every thing, therefore, that they should say unto you that you shall observe, you must observe and do. But, not according to their deeds, for, they say, and don’t do.
(Matthew 23:1-3; The Aramaic Scriptures) 

There are also several other places we can point to on the literal as well, such as when we see in Acts 15 an early version of the laws of B’nei Noach are handed down from the Sanhedrin with Kefa and Ya’akov in attendance.  We see there that Yeshua didn’t train his people to start a new religion or new form of Sadducee Judaism, instead we can even prove he quoted the words of the sages and agreed with halakha over 320 times in the smallest Gospel, the Gospel of Mark.  This was highlighted in the footnotes of the Rabbinic Gospel of Mark which is now being used in Christian colleges and also Messianic online yeshivot.  This is something that cannot be denied.  

Yet, in the modern Hebrew Roots and Messianic world, we see halakha being established not on 1st Century halakha and from the likes of Mishna and Talmud but rather upon the backs of make it up as you go along theologians.  This is destructive.  

Have you noticed those who are against the rabbinic authority that is talked about for 6 chapters in the written Torah have never picked up a single tractate of Talmud?  It bewilders me that these people tend to pretend to be experts on a text they have never read.  Instead they rely upon antisemitic websites and YouTube videos from such individuals.  The numerous evidences and commandments from HaShem himself are ignored to form their own theology. 

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